She rules the hearts of millions and is touted as one of the most beautiful actresses ever to grace Indian cinema. Aishwarya Rai, who turns 34 Thursday, married Abhishek Bachchan earlier this year.

According to insiders, Abhishek's ailing grandmother Teji Bachchan was eager to see them married.

She is currently working in Ram Gopal Varma's "Sarkar Raj", Ashutosh Gowatrikar's period film "Jodha Akbar" and Hollywood flick "Pink Panther 2".

There was a notion among some that she is not a good actress and has hogged the limelight mainly for her looks, and her affairs with co-stars Salman Khan and Viveik Oberoi. However with her performance in Mani Ratnam's "Guru" she changed that.

Her being crowned Miss World in 1994 made her entry into films smooth. She was flooded with offers but chose to start her acting career with Mani Ratnam's Tamil film "Iruvar".

Her performance was critically appreciated and she soon forayed into Bollywood with Rahul Rawail's "Aur Pyar Ho Gaya" opposite Bobby Deol. The film not only fetched her a Filmfare award for best debut but she had top-notch directors making a beeline for her house.

She was soon signed up by one of the most talented filmmakers in the industry, Bhansali, for "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam". In this love triangle, which also had Ajay Devgan, she was paired for the first time with Salman Khan.

Their onscreen chemistry was electrifying and the film was widely appreciated and fetched her Filmfare's best actress award.

She started receiving offers from some of the biggest names in the industry - Subhash Ghai, Yash Chopra and Mansoor Khan.

Chopra signed her up with Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan in "Mohabattein". The film didn't do well but the audience liked her pairing with Shah Rukh. Bhansali cast the two in his magnum opus "Devdas" that went on to become a major hit.

Post-"Devdas" Aishwarya shifted her focus to Hollywood. Her first international venture was Gurinder Chadha's "Bride & Prejudice". The film was a flop but it didn't stop her from getting new projects.

Some of her prestigious international projects include - "Provoked", "The Last Legion" opposite Colin Firth and Sir Ben Kingsley and "Chaos".

While scaling new heights in Bollywood and international films, Aishwarya never crossed the line in terms of skin show on screen.

"I am not comfortable about kissing or nudity. I am clear about what I want. I'll work only with good directors who'll offer me two-dimensional roles. The director and the role are most important.

"Women in the industry have been exploited very often but there are some actors who believe that the short cut to stardom is through nudity or exposure. Such success is, in fact, very short-lived," she is quoted as saying.

Since she set foot in filmdom, the India media has been sometimes nasty to her but she hasn't bothered much about what they thought or wrote about her.

"Someone asked me why I'm politically correct, even when people hit out so openly at me. But the truth is I've never been brought up to behave any other way. I can't say anything hurtful about anyone. I just don't believe in saying mean things. I won't feel good doing that. This is the way I am."

"I'm amazed how many people feel good hitting out at me. They're welcome to do it. Earlier, they had more leeway to deny their indiscretions in print. But now on television they look pretty ridiculous denying what they say," she has said.

Apart from promoting a wide variety of disparate brands, Aishwarya has many firsts to her credit - she has the distinction of being the first Indian actor to be a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival and also appeared on Oprah Winfrey's talk show.

About her appearance on Winfrey's show, she told the media: "I never thought I'd actually be meeting her -- and that too, on her show! I was extremely happy to be on her show. I admire her."

She also appeared on another prestigious American talk show "60 Minutes".

She has graced the covers of international magazines like TIME, which placed her on their list of the "100 Most Influential People in the World Today". Aishwarya has also been termed as one of the most beautiful women by TIME magazine.